Netflix And Chill: Rebel Ridge (2024)

It's a familiar tale, especially when it feels as if it's paying homage to First Blood throughout, but Rebel Ridge is a solid and tense action thriller that deftly mixes some thought-provoking commentary with a full-blooded star-making turn from Aaron Pierre.

Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, things start off with Terry Richmond (Pierre) being harassed by a couple of small-town cops. He was on his way with bail money to keep a relative out of jail, but that money is seized by the cops. They are apparently allowed to do that, it's called civil forfeiture, but there's something fishy about the entire process, as becomes even more obvious when Terry tries to reason with the local Sheriff (Chief Sandy Burnne, played by Don Johnson). Terry doesn't have anyone around to lend him support, aside from a courthouse employee named Summer (AnnaSophia Robb), but the local police soon come to understand that Terry doesn't really need anyone to help him. He can handle himself, and he can handle the local police as they slowly figure out that they're in big trouble.

I can see some people being disappointed by Rebel Ridge because of what it doesn't do, but I hope more people really appreciate it for what it does. Saulnier maintains a great balancing act of keeping things tense and entertaining without ever resorting to the standard gunfights and combat that we've seen before. The hero here isn't just a man pushed to the edge and fighting back. He's someone who also has to think about the consequences of every word and move, well aware of how easy it could be for law enforcement to find an excuse to shoot a black man without anyone asking too many questions. The police, on the other hand, act in the knowledge that they can make a mess and figure out a way to clean it all up later. They are the only ones constantly using lethal force, and that's an important part of the message of the movie.

With no disrespect intended, I am glad that John Boyega ended up not being able to play the lead in this, paving the way for Pierre to come along and stamp his authority all over it. Pierre is cool, calm, and collected, but also looks as if he could find a dozen different ways to kill you while smiling and nodding politely as you get ready to shake hands. That's the essence of the character, and Pierre excels in a performance that allows him to be impressively physical, but also charming and able to handle an American accent disguising his native British tongue (which I only mention here due to my surprise when hearing him speak in some press interviews about the movie). Johnson is just as well-cast in the main antagonist role, his easygoing manner and charm covering an air of menace and growing discomfort. Robb gets a slightly trickier role, but the screenplay does well to make her a friend to our hero without forcing them into a full-blooded and passionate relationship. Various officers are played by David Denman, Emory Cohen, and Zsané Jhé, and all three enjoy roles that allow them to often be in the thick of any action, and James Cromwell plays a judge in a couple of scenes in which he delivers some exposition and mourns for the state of his town in that calm and measured Cromwell way he can do so well.

This isn't a throwback to the muscle-bound action films of yesteryear, which I think some may hope for when they hear First Blood mentioned as a main reference point, but it's all the better for it. Saulnier has honed his craft over the years, I have yet to see something from him that I didn't thoroughly enjoy, and I hope he keeps getting opportunities to tell the stories that he wants to tell. Few people do tension as well as he does (the sequence here with police waiting on an internet router being rebooted as they try to find out more about our hero is one of the most satisfying bits of setup and immediate payoff that I have seen in years). Every thing that he gets right here helps to overlook the slight mis-steps, such as the runtime and a slight problem with the tonal shift as things get darker and more dangerous.

8/10

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